1. You may identify the stasis in the play but it isn’t necessarily at the beginning of the play. Where is it and who does it involve?
This play is different because it covers multiple cities and multiple years. The author states that it is based in the years from 1990 to present day time. The cities are: New York City, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Boston, San Francisco, the Guizhou Province in China. We Have David Henry Hwang ( who is the author) He is a famous and respected playwright. Then we have a character named Marcus who this play seems to be mostly about. Besides these two main characters we have support characters coming in. We have announcers, actors, narrators, etc. All these different voices add to the story.
2. Ball points out that the intrusion sometimes occurs late in the dramatic action. What is the intrusion that breaks the stasis in Yellow Face and how is it broken?
I would say the set up for the intrusion is when BD Wong calls David and tells him that a famous Play, Miss Saigon, that has a an Asian character as its main character has cast a white man to play that role. Naturally many people in the Asian American community are upset because there are plenty of asian or asian american actors who could have performed that role perfectly. I would then go on to say that the actual intrusion is when David finds out that Marcus is not actually Asian at all. David was a big fighter over the Miss Saigon play casting an asian the main role over casting it to a white man. He then had his own play come out and it featured an asian man. He wanted to give the role to a not as well known actor so he chose someone who he said he could tell was "Not 100% Asian." Then he found out that he was not asian at all and he realized that he was a victim to himself in fighting over what white America had been doing. He himself fell into it by accident but at this point he could not fire Marcus over his race so it turned into trying t hide it and cover it up. This had a snowball effect.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor that is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place? Hint: what is the heart of the play? How does the title figure in this?
Henry Hwang wrote a play titled Face Value that was set to premier in 1993. this story is very much his story with him taking a few artistic measurements a bit farther. I think he decided to set it in this time because it tied together his real life events with things he saw as a big issues within his own field. Yellow Face and racism in theater field still exist and exist all over not just that one profession. He wrote this play to call that to the light. Yellow Face is just slang for someone trying to pretend they are asian or for playing an asian role. The question this play brings to the table is "Is it okay to take artistic liberties with a play like this or should certain race identified characters only be played by people who match that description? The Unique factor is that he is calling out this "Yellow Faced" industry and that he himself actually falls prey to it.
4. State the dramatic question that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
Will Henry Hwang be able to right his wrongs with Marcus Gee? The white character that he created by convincing people that Marcus was a Siberian (Eurasian) Jew. Im the play he figured that Marcus would go away after the play they were performing but Marcus stuck and became an influential member of the Asian American community. He fought for their rights, made speeches, dated a popular Asian actress that was a Ex of David's, and basically assumed a false identity. Henry realized that he actually created something he was directly fighting to get rid of and he actually contributed to the Yellow Face. No matter if Marcus was doing good work, he was doing it under a false identity.
5. Use Hwang’s “character” to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, ie. The dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what these particular characters wants. The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles facing each of the lawyers.
The main action Henry took was when he obviously created Marcus Gee a white male who he convinced the asian community was a Siberian Eurasian Jew. He did this because he wanted to keep face while still trying to find a way that he could fire Marcus and hire an actual asian male to perform his play. He knew if Marcus knew that he knew that Marcus was white he would not be allowed to fire him over race. So he had to pretend he did not know in an interview so he contrived a stage name for Marcus, Marcus Gee, and spun this wild fantasy about where he was from. The audience loved it because they felt like they had proper representation and Marcus Gee grew into a celebrity. This was all hollow because Marcus was not asian so once again it was a white man playing in yellow face and reaping the benefits of his stature in society. Davids wants change at this point because he just wants the entire thing to go away. In this play I would say Ball's Me against another individual is what is happening. It seems that though Marcus is good hearted he is constantly there taking something that he should have let go to the next step every day and its frustrating David. David does not feel like he can right his wrongs because everywhere he turns Marcus is there becoming more and more involved.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Yellow Face.
There are several important theatrical moments. One such moment is when Henry finds out Marcus is white and then freaks out over it. Another one is at the end when Henry convinces Marcus to give up his identity to help the Asian American people. Marcus is hesitant at first but agrees too which shows us that he does actually care about this community. Then We as a reader find out that Marcus is actual a fiction character David made up to prove a point. This completely changes the game especially because so many parts of David's play are real life situations and characters.
This play is different because it covers multiple cities and multiple years. The author states that it is based in the years from 1990 to present day time. The cities are: New York City, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Boston, San Francisco, the Guizhou Province in China. We Have David Henry Hwang ( who is the author) He is a famous and respected playwright. Then we have a character named Marcus who this play seems to be mostly about. Besides these two main characters we have support characters coming in. We have announcers, actors, narrators, etc. All these different voices add to the story.
2. Ball points out that the intrusion sometimes occurs late in the dramatic action. What is the intrusion that breaks the stasis in Yellow Face and how is it broken?
I would say the set up for the intrusion is when BD Wong calls David and tells him that a famous Play, Miss Saigon, that has a an Asian character as its main character has cast a white man to play that role. Naturally many people in the Asian American community are upset because there are plenty of asian or asian american actors who could have performed that role perfectly.
I would then go on to say that the actual intrusion is when David finds out that Marcus is not actually Asian at all. David was a big fighter over the Miss Saigon play casting an asian the main role over casting it to a white man. He then had his own play come out and it featured an asian man. He wanted to give the role to a not as well known actor so he chose someone who he said he could tell was "Not 100% Asian." Then he found out that he was not asian at all and he realized that he was a victim to himself in fighting over what white America had been doing. He himself fell into it by accident but at this point he could not fire Marcus over his race so it turned into trying t hide it and cover it up. This had a snowball effect.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor that is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place? Hint: what is the heart of the play? How does the title figure in this?
Henry Hwang wrote a play titled Face Value that was set to premier in 1993. this story is very much his story with him taking a few artistic measurements a bit farther. I think he decided to set it in this time because it tied together his real life events with things he saw as a big issues within his own field. Yellow Face and racism in theater field still exist and exist all over not just that one profession. He wrote this play to call that to the light. Yellow Face is just slang for someone trying to pretend they are asian or for playing an asian role. The question this play brings to the table is "Is it okay to take artistic liberties with a play like this or should certain race identified characters only be played by people who match that description? The Unique factor is that he is calling out this "Yellow Faced" industry and that he himself actually falls prey to it.
4. State the dramatic question that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
Will Henry Hwang be able to right his wrongs with Marcus Gee? The white character that he created by convincing people that Marcus was a Siberian (Eurasian) Jew. Im the play he figured that Marcus would go away after the play they were performing but Marcus stuck and became an influential member of the Asian American community. He fought for their rights, made speeches, dated a popular Asian actress that was a Ex of David's, and basically assumed a false identity. Henry realized that he actually created something he was directly fighting to get rid of and he actually contributed to the Yellow Face. No matter if Marcus was doing good work, he was doing it under a false identity.
5. Use Hwang’s “character” to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, ie. The dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what these particular characters wants. The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles facing each of the lawyers.
The main action Henry took was when he obviously created Marcus Gee a white male who he convinced the asian community was a Siberian Eurasian Jew. He did this because he wanted to keep face while still trying to find a way that he could fire Marcus and hire an actual asian male to perform his play. He knew if Marcus knew that he knew that Marcus was white he would not be allowed to fire him over race. So he had to pretend he did not know in an interview so he contrived a stage name for Marcus, Marcus Gee, and spun this wild fantasy about where he was from. The audience loved it because they felt like they had proper representation and Marcus Gee grew into a celebrity. This was all hollow because Marcus was not asian so once again it was a white man playing in yellow face and reaping the benefits of his stature in society. Davids wants change at this point because he just wants the entire thing to go away. In this play I would say Ball's Me against another individual is what is happening. It seems that though Marcus is good hearted he is constantly there taking something that he should have let go to the next step every day and its frustrating David. David does not feel like he can right his wrongs because everywhere he turns Marcus is there becoming more and more involved.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Yellow Face.
There are several important theatrical moments. One such moment is when Henry finds out Marcus is white and then freaks out over it. Another one is at the end when Henry convinces Marcus to give up his identity to help the Asian American people. Marcus is hesitant at first but agrees too which shows us that he does actually care about this community. Then We as a reader find out that Marcus is actual a fiction character David made up to prove a point. This completely changes the game especially because so many parts of David's play are real life situations and characters.